Covered Services
Any food that is paid for by State dollars, and includes: food that is eligible for reimbursement while in travel status and food that is provided with State dollars for conferences, meetings, and other events.
Please note that this specification does not permit affected entities to be reimbursed for expenses that exceed approved allowable rates.
Goal
To encourage affected entities to purchase state-funded food from businesses that minimize their environmental impact and have high levels of environmental performance in accordance with the third-party certification programs below.
Standard Setting and Certification Programs
Green Restaurant Association - the Green Restaurant Association is a not-for-profit organization that administers a third-party certification program that verifies that participating food service providers have high environmental performance. More information can be found at: www.dinegreen.com
New York Environmental Leaders Program - the New York Environmental Leaders Program (NYEL) is a green business program administered by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) that strives to incentivize higher levels of environmental performance by providing recognition and incentives. NYEL is free, voluntary, and open to all types of businesses, including food service providers.
Taste NY Pledge - the Taste NY Pledge is administered by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets and promotes increasing the amount of locally sourced products served by food service providers. Using locally sourced products lowers the environmental impact of food products by decreasing the distance, and thus emissions, that food must travel before being served. Food Service providers that have taken the pledge offer food from local sources, for at least 10% of the products they serve and educate the public on the local choices they offer.
Specifications
All affected entities are encouraged to procure food from providers that:
- Have taken the Taste NY Pledge; or
- are a member of the Green Restaurant Association; or
- are a member of the New York Environmental Leaders program.